Xpress Pro EOL, Media Composer Price cut 50%

[Grinner Hester]

wow
I dunno know what else to say.
I guess R.I.P. is proper at this point.

[Bill Meissner]

It’s about time that we Xpress Pro users get the full Media Composer toolset for a reasonable amount. $500 to upgrade to MC is not bad, considering the upgrade from XpressDV to Xpress Pro…except I’ll have to buy a new machine to run it.

Buying a new MC package still costs a lot more than the whole FCS.

[Moody Glasgow]

Why R.I.P.?

moody glasgow
smoke artist / editor

[Eric Jurgenson]

Yes, it should be “too little – too late”.

[Terence Curren]

We need to wait and see what they announce as we get closer to NAB. There are still hardware issues to find out about.

Terence Curren
http://www.alphadogs.tv
http://www.digitalservicestation.com
Burbank,Ca

[Moody Glasgow]

Yeah, I guess the announcement is a little lame considering it was supposed to come last month…

In 2 weeks they came up with a price cut, and EOL on Xpress? Isn’t that what all the users have been asking for? (the price cut)

moody glasgow
smoke artist / editor

[Dylan Reeve]

You shouldn’t have to upgrade. Xpress Pro and Media Composer are essentially the same software. If you can make Xpress Pro work well enough, then MC should be fine too.

[Dennis Kutchera]

Because had Avid done this 5 years ago, today they would own the market that is now owned by Apple. They will never get it back.

In my opinion, now all Avid is doing is milking blood from a stone by selling MC for less, but still far more than FCP with a complete studio package. I am doubting that you will see much more development on the MC side other than keeping pace with hardware and OS compatibilities. I say that because Avid canned most of their editing product development team. Some now work for Apple. Everything Avid gets out of the MC line from this point forth is gravy. I do reserve the right to be wrong, but I think MC will go the way of Media 100 before long.

I was hardcore Avid since 1993. Today, I am using Final Cut Studio and a little Premiere. I still prefer Avid for speed, but the value and interoperability in FC Studio is hard to pass by. Anyone who knows me may well say that the day Dennis drops Avid, watch for the nails to start being driven into Avid”s coffin. Ask Ron Lindeboom – no one believed in and was as passionate about Avid as I was. Then one day I just went silent on this board because I had nothing more to say. The honeymoon was over with my beloved Avid.

I sold my last Avid system off exactly one year ago, almost to the day. Last year they had nothing to show new at NAB in the MC XPro lines and this year…need I say more? It does sadden me because Avid used to have a cutting edge product and a great development team. The company’s focus has changed.

There is always hope that NAB will bring an exciting announcement, but I am not holding my breath.

Best Regards,
Dennis

Best Regards,

Dennis Kutchera
Avid COW

[Terence Curren]

I always wondered where Dennis went.

This is why I came back from NAB last year saying Avid would be a server company in three years. Now it’s two years to go.

Terence Curren
http://www.alphadogs.tv
http://www.digitalservicestation.com
Burbank,Ca

[Grinner Hester]

what they’ve done to the good old Media Composer.

Man, it was’nt five, well maybe ten years ago when the very word Avid buzzed over all others. Ad agencies requested it, post houses boasted it… “it” was an Avid and that, to put it plain and simple, sold.
I still owe a gooood 5 figures on my “Media Composer” and in a last ditch effort to cash in before cashing in, they hawk it to kids in basements for software shelf prices?
It’s an admission of what the software was when they charged 45k for it, what it is today, and where they plan on going. It’s a slap in the face to everyone who has ever owned “an Avid” and especially, those of us who were forced to downgrade to Adrenaline and are still toting it’s note.
I saw severance mention for those who paid 4k for the software version but have not seen the KY jelly for Media Composer HD Adrenaline purchasers.
The bottom line translation to this announcement, at least by this user/owner is “we do not plan on making our products better. We plan on selling them cheaper instead. This is the new thinking and to all of our seasoned clientele, we offer the biggest finger since the ole mac flip off of ’99.”